CCC 2014 Convocation Complete Success

Keynote speaker was the Most Rev. Salvatore Cordileone, Archbishop of San Francisco. Dr. Scott Hahn, Fr. Charles Connor and Matt Fradd also spoke at the conference.

Matt Fradd

On July 9, twenty-nine priests from across the United States
gathered in Hanceville, Alabama for the annual Confraternity of Catholic Clergy
convention. For the first talk, they welcomed Matt Fradd, one of a new breed of
evangelists and apologists who are conversant in popular culture and are
developing creative approaches to reach youth and young adults. Matt brought to
the members of the CCC key information and resources for dealing with a
pastoral issue which is both pervasive and daunting - pornography.

Matt told the story of his own journey from porn addiction to renewal of faith
and a lifestyle of freedom. He was eight years old the first time he stumbled
across pornography in the home of a relative. The attraction led to a habit and
eventually addiction. Having become an agnostic and cynical about religion, he
nonetheless attended World Youth Day in Rome in 2000, which was for him a
life-changing experience. His new found faith let him to seek chastity and
freedom from pornography. He stressed that chastity does not mean reaching a
place where temptation is gone, but a daily choice to love authentically.

The most valuable thing in Matt's talk was a practical pastoral strategy that
any priest or deacon can immediately put to use. He described porn addiction as
a seven step "activation sequence" which can be consciously countered
by a "deactivation sequence." He further gave the CCC member priests
four questions they can ask of a penitent: How often do you fall? How old were
you when you started looking at porn? Have you talked to anyone about this
outside confession? Do you want to stop? These questions help the priest assess
if the penitent has a serious problem with porn and gives the priest a chance
to invite him or her to meet outside of the sacrament for further help.
Effective resources for someone struggling with porn include: theporneffect.com, integrityrestored.com, reclaimsexualhealth.com. Finally, Matt
provided for each participant in the conference information on the
accountability software CovenantEyes and a copy of the book Delivered: True
Stories of Men and Women Who Turned From Porn To Purity.

The members of the CCC were grateful to have these new, effective tools for
helping people gain freedom in the painful and difficult struggle against
pornography.

Scott Hahn

The second talk of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy was by the
renowned Biblical scholar-convert-apologist Scott Hahn. He spoke about the New
Evangelization, with the intent of showing that this recent summons of the
Church is not a catchphrase, a program, or a slogan, but an urgent priority,
rooted deeply in the Church's mission and nature.

The concept of a New Evangelization goes back to Pius XII, who was searching
for new ways to proclaim the Gospel to the modern world. To this end he
appointed Angelo Roncalli, the future John XXIII, to lead a commission to see
if the Church was ready for a new council to finish the work of Vatican I.
Though Roncall concluded that the time for a new council had not arrived, the
seed had been planted in his mind, and thus he called Vatican II when he was
elected pope. He was followed by Paul VI, who consciously chose to be named
after the great evangelizing apostle of the New Testament. In view of the many
journeys of John Paul the Great, people tend to forget that Paul VI was the
first "traveling pope," with trips to the United States, Portugal,
Uganda, Columbia, and other countries. John Paul II first used the phrase
"new evangelization" during his trip to Poland in 1979. It was an
unscripted phrase, drawn from his heart, in reaction to the deprivation of faith
he saw as the result of years of communist control. He wanted to re-evangelize
the de-christianized. The next time he used the phrase was on his visit to the
United States, when he saw the need for the gospel to be proclaimed to those
whose faith had suffered from secularism and materialism.

The key insight offered by Dr. Hahn for accomplishing the New Evangelization is
to see it in light of the sacraments, in particular, the Eucharist.
Evangelization is not just a proclamation of the Gospel message, successful
when a person responds in faith. It is the beginning of a journey, a
preparation for entering the family of God, requiring conversion and
catechesis, the final goal of which is the Eucharist. To take part in the New
Evangelization means to bring those already "sacramentalized" to find
in the Eucharist the abundant grace of salvation which they hear proclaimed in
Sacred Scripture. In the New Evangelization, priests have a privileged mission
of spiritual fatherhood, becoming spiritual life-givers through the sacraments.

Fr. Charles Connor

The morning talk for the second full day of the Confraternity of
Catholic Clergy Conference was by Fr. Charles Connor, prolific author and
scholar, Professor of Theology and Church history at Mount Saint Mary Seminary
Emmitsburg, Maryland, and host of numerous programs on EWTN. In is talk Fr.
Connor set out to compare the insights and spirituality of the priesthood in
the writings of the two newly canonized popes, John XXIII and John Paul II.
People often try to contrast the two popes, as one being liberal and
progressive and the other conservative, but a careful look shows that they
present a consistent spirituality on the priesthood.

The spirituality of the priesthood of St. John XXIII is found most clearly in
his encyclical on the anniversary of the death of St. John Vianny, Sacerdotii
Nostri Primordia, published in August of 1959. He extolls John Vianny as a
saint who "attracts and pushes us to the heights of priestly life."
John Vianny was a model of sacrifice and penance, who gave himself tirelessly
to God's people in priestly charity. His faithful chastity produced a generous
openness of heart to others. He taught that man's greatest privilege was to
pray, and encouraged a simple form of prayer, in which the Christian pours out
his heart in all simplicity, becoming a beggar before God.

John Paul II became pope at a time when many theologians spoke of confusion
about the nature and role of the priest. To respond to this trend, he explained
and reflected on the theology of Vatican II on the priesthood. One finds his
insights expressed in his yearly Holy Thursday letters to priests, his book
Gift and Mystery, and his encyclical letter on priestly formation, Pastores
Dabo Vobis. There, John Paul affirms that the priest is ontologically
configured to Christ, the head of the mystical body and the spouse of the
Church. Celibacy is a treasure. The priest is called to a life of prayer,
offering himself to the one to whom he has been configured. He is a man who
"sits at the school of the Eucharist." John Paul's theology and
spirituality on the priesthood is completely at one with that of John XXIII.
Thus, Fr. Connor concludes, we do not need a new theology of the priesthood, as
if priesthood will otherwise become out of date. What we need is a
"refreshment" in the eternal truths of the mystery of the priesthood,
and for each priest to find his "today" in the "today" of
Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Archbishop Cordileone

On the afternoon of July 10, His Excellency Salvatore Cordileone,
Archbishop of San Francisco, delivered the keynote address at the annual
conference of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy. With clear and substantive
theological arguments, he exhorted the members of the Confraternity to explain
and defend the Church's teaching on marriage.

Marriage is unique. No other human relationship is based on the three goods (or
bonae) of marriage: fruitfulness, faithfulness, and permanence. Sadly, people
fail to appreciate the nature of marriage, as is shown by widespread advocacy
for same sex marriage. This advocacy, though, has been a long time in the
making. By the use of contraception, people have stopped seeing fruitfulness as
part of marriage. By the legalization of no-fault divorce, people no longer
regard permanence as essential to marriage. (However, in spite of
"swinging" and experiments of "open marriage" fidelity does
continue to be valued.) Thus marriage in no longer viewed as a way of providing
for the well-being of children, but for the satisfaction of adults. It has
become re-interpreted according to what St. John Paul II called the utilitarian
ethic.

The true nature and value of marriage has been guarded and proclaimed by the
church, because it is a natural symbol for the mystical union of God the soul
-- a union which, as Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI points out in Deus Caritas Est,
the two become one yet remain their distinct selves. The Song of Songs was, for
this reason, the book of the Old Testament most frequently commented upon
during the patristic period. There are also numerous references to marriage in
the New Testament, such as the wedding at Cana, the parable of the ten
bridesmaids, the teaching on the mystery of Christ and the Church in Ephesians
Chapter 5, and the wedding feast of the Lamb in the Book of Revelation. Perhaps
we are less aware of the nuptial imagery present in liturgy and church
architecture. A canopy over an altar represents a canopy used at Jewish
weddings. Veils used during liturgy, such as chalice veils, or more ancient
practices of placing a veil in front of the altar or over the hands of
communicants at the altar rail, is reminiscent of a marriage veil. The altar
cloth has been understood to symbolize the bed clothes of the marriage bed.

Because marriage thus symbolizes the possibility and hope of intimacy with God,
it is of the highest importance that priests explain and defend the institution
of marriage. Just as it will be harder for a child to see God as a loving
Father when he lacks the presence of a loving father in his life, so it will be
harder for people to grasp Christ's offer of spiritual intimacy if they have no
knowledge or experience of the truth of marriage. Archbishop Cordileone thus
encouraged all the members of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy with the
words of St. John Paul II, "Do not be afraid." We should proclaim the
truth in charity and be willing to suffer for the truth. We have a rich
tradition - the theology of the body, a true understanding of freedom, a
correct view of the human person, a sense of the transcendent nature of the
person. We should not let the pressure of the present culture make us reticent
about speaking up on behalf of marriage. We are not in the situation of many
lay people who might lose their jobs or be blocked in their careers if they
stand up for marriage. If we defend the institution of marriage, the worst that
can happen to us is that people will be angry at us and call us names. In fact,
defending marriage may even be the key to the new evangelization. When people,
especially young people, see the truth of the Church's teaching about marriage,
they will be led to conclude that if the Church is right about this one
important area of life, she might be right about everything else too.
Archbishop Cordileone offered a final, practical way to participate in the new
evangelization - to celebrate the mass with care, reverence and devotion, and
thus "renew the Church from the heart."

The members of the Confraternity of Catholic Clergy deeply appreciated Archbishop
Cordileone's thought provoking and inspiring words, and have asked him to
continue to work with them as their Episcopal Advisor, which he as graciously
agreed to do.

Pages

Catholic-Hierarchy News

Catholic World News Top Headlines (CWNews.com)

[close]Firefox users we wanted to take this space to let you know what Mozilla, the company that makes Firefox has been doing, and it's not good. Mozilla recently forced it's CEO to resign because he had, 5 years ago, donated $1,000 to a pro-family political group. Apparently Mozilla is intolerant of anyone that disagrees with their Liberal view of politics. To read more please visit WhyFirefoxIsBlocked.com. (We aren't blocking Firefox, but we feel it is important to let you know what's going on.)